


The Zootopian Empire

by Scottishvalhalla



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-13 19:37:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14755022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scottishvalhalla/pseuds/Scottishvalhalla
Summary: The Empire of Zootopia wields control over large swaths of land, secured by its legions of prey. When they seek to take the predator held Vesanus Forest, Zootopia will learn that the Predator Tribes will not simply fade into obscurity. Civilization will clash with heathen fury and legionnaire Judy will be confronted by new challenges as a thrall to a savage people.





	1. Legions on the march

The Legions on the march

The ground was damp with dew and the morning air hung thick with mist. A horn blew in the distance snapping a rabbit legionarie from her sleeping stupor, looking around and gathering her tower shield and spear that were leaning against a nearby tree, Judy Hopps started jogging back to where the rest of the XVII Legion was gathering for the next leg of its march. Starting along the trail from the creek from where she had been filling her water skin, Judy began the climb up the small embankment that led to the camp, now nearly desolate of all tents and buildings.

Mumbling under her breath, Judy remarked "I hope they haven't put away all of today's breakfast, I would hate to march on an empty stomach."

Arriving at the summit of the hill, Judy gazed down at the massed crowd of mammals that comprised the legions of Zootopia. Only three legions were present, with those legions comprising of five thousand soldiers, ranging from large hulking mammals such as bulls, hippos and rhinos, to medium sized ones such as pigs, sheep, deer and antelope. Making her way down to the lengthening column of soldiers preparing once again to begin its delve deeper into the heart of the Vesanus forest.

Walking through the jumble of animals Judy found herself carefully attempting to dodge the stampeding feet of other legionaries, barely managing to scamper out of the way of a buffalo's foot,

"HEY, watch where you're going you stupid rabbit!" the buffalo exclaimed with a snort of his breath.

"Sorry" Judy exclaimed darting in-between pairs of legs until she reached the stump of a tree, which the other soldiers gave a wider berth, and for good reason. Leaning over the stump was general Swinton, a well-respected swine who lead the combined forces of the three legions which, along with the auxiliary troops, held the authority of an army 20,000 strong. To any and all mammals, her word was law. Judy, spying her destination, started toward the rest of her cohort. Her sensitive ears swiveled as she picked up on swinton's conversation with her Legates, the highest-ranking officers that headed a specific legion. The three Legates present for this particular crusade into the Vesanus Forest included: Legate Doug, the brawny sheep with shifty eyes, and supposedly connections to the magistrate Bellwether, head of the Senate. Legate Moosebridge, a tall, firm talking moose, and legate Jumbeaux, a massive hulking elephant whose weapon of choice was a massive iron mace with a Zootopian crest engraved onto the top of its flanged head.

"Are you sure elongating our lines once again is a wise choice, any attack by the preds could spell disaster with the orders you are proposing" Mossebrdige exclaimed, leaning against his lance.

Swinton responded in a slightly condescending tone "Our lines will certainly not be spread too thin, are you saying that these savages can overcome the natural superiority of the Empire?"

MooseBridge replied in a deep, yet hesitant tone "no General, it only that our marching column would stretch for miles, and with the march through so many valleys and in this god forsaken forest, it could prove devastating!"

A snort confirmed Swinton's position "Fear not Legate, we shall place our auxiliary along the sides of our formation to soften the blow of any charge or ambush attempted."

Doug nodded, whilst giving Moosebridge a look, "Excellent idea General, let the heathen pelts take the brunt of a fight."

Moosebridge replied" now that just seems…."

The remainder of the conversation was drowned out by various greetings of the cohort as Judy left earshot of her superiors' conversation

A brown Rabbit swiftly embraced Judy as she fell into her position on the right side of the designated rectangular marching formation.

"Oh hello Jessica!"

"Hey Judy" Jessica cheerily replied.,

"are you ready?" Judy inquired, curious as to how the fairly new addition to the cohort was holding up to life on the march.

Jessica tried her best to remain stoical, but smiled all the same "I'm just ready to get started, all this waiting is making me crazy!"

"yeah, me too, although some of the blame can be put onto the Legates arguing with General Swinton"

Several other members of her cohort turned their heads at mention of the general's name,

Jessica looked puzzled "What is there to argue about? We go in, we kick predator butt, and we go home, wreathed in spoils!"

Judy's ears fell behind her as she retold her friends about the conversation she had overheard. Looking around, she saw mixed reactions ranging from indifference to disgust to intrigue. She didn't know how the others didn't see the brilliance of swinton's plan, after all, she joined the Legion to help make Zootopia safe, to in some way repay the debt of the legion saving the mostly merchant and farmer inhabited bunnyburrow from marauding Predator tribes. Her fellow legionaries were not there to see the horrors that those savages subjected her family to. They had no idea of how evil predators truly were.

Jessica was the first to respond "the auxiliary troops are unpredictable, I mean, they're predators, what can you expect from them? I wouldn't put them anywhere else, they are here so prey lives can be saved, after all, it is what we paid them for, right"

Judy considered this, they were being put in the most vulnerable position in the formation, seemed ok given the fact that they were little more than mercenaries. The predator auxiliary troops were forced to live outside the protective earthworks that made the border of a camp, they were lowest priority for medical treatment and resupply, and were treated with general distaste, being used as fodder to slow the momentum of an enemy charge. Judy was still resolute in her thoughts, allowing the treatment of the auxiliaries to be justified considering that predators were indeed unpredictable. Not dwelling on the subject, she simply slid on her helmet, which one of her friends had been holding for her, accepted the bread offered to her, and readied herself for the order to begin marching. Their orders were to march deep into the heart of the Vesanus Forest, and engage and root out any Predator presence, to make way for the civilized world of Zootopia.

Hearing a slow but noticeable decline in noise, Judy looked around, seeing the final cohorts take their positions. Wolves, tigers, lions, and other assorted predators marked the auxiliary troops taking their place in thin lines ling either side of the column. The tension that found itself lodged in Judy's heart was almost immediately eased upon hearing three short beats of a drum, the signal to begin marching.

Several Hours into the march was when the unease started to creep into Judy's mind, as light fog had replaced the mist of that morning lending the forest an eerie vibe where, save for the constant beat of the legions on the march, was deafeningly quiet. The flattened path had lead them into a narrow valley, with wooden forest on both sides, each side on top of a slight hill, sloping down to the path where the legion nor marched. This had been a place of concern for Swinton before they had even started, and had foreseen possible danger. She had sent the auxiliary troops ahead of the main force, and into the forest on their side as reconnaissance.

"why waste prey lives" Judy thought, "when you can use heathens to kill heathens, Swinton understands who is most important" Silently praising Swinton's stratagem, she was slammed from her thoughts when she heard the pounding of legion war drums, two solid beats, then silence.

"DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS!" exclaimed the head of each cohort.

Judy's training kicked in, she knew exactly what to do, each cohort would split in half down the middle, the left half turning left and interlocking shields, the right half turning right and doing the same. Thus, even when in their marching columns, the legion could defend itself. Deep resounding bellows echoed from the dark trees. In front of her the underbrush seemed alive as trees swayed and the underbrush bristled. A bright light caught her attention as a massive ball of flame erupted along top of the hill nearly directly in front of her, Jessica's squeak to her left likewise demonstrated her dismay. Glancing left and right, similar fiery masses were dotted long the hill overseeing the path, she could only assume the same was true behind her. Javelins, arrows, and rocks from slings, were pelted at the now stationary forces of Zootopia, mostly bouncing off their large shields. The balls of fire started down the hill as the legion's lines, bristling with spears, readied itself for battle. As the balls gained speed and barreled toward her, Judy panicked as she realized that with her cohort's dense formation, no one could move to escape from the path of the massive sphere of death. Angling her shield, hoping to protect herself from the worst of the flames she braced for the impact.

Screams erupted as the balls of fire slammed into the lines, setting fire to fur and flesh, the screams of those set ablaze pervading the air as lines struggled to deal with the fiery masses that were interrupting the battle lines the Empire so heavily relied upon. Judy quickly glancing around at her cohort's formation and saw that, like many others, their battle lines were in tatters. Battle cries in strange, foreign tongues assaulted the air as the Predator Tribes erupted from the undergrowth, their roars filled with malice accompanying their charge toward the legions ranks. Reading her spear and steeling herself for the nearing heathens, Judy glanced over the top of her shield toward the charging mass of Tribesmen.

And directly into the savage green eyes of a red fox.


	2. The Predator Stalks its Prey

The air was cool and crisp as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky, bathing the forest in the dusky red light of evening. Deep in the Vesanus forest, within acres innumerable, a small hut sat upon a hill near the edge of a village. Light spewed from the open walled forge attached to the small house, just as smoke billowed from the chimney positioned at the highest point of the structure, and just as slag spewed from the piece of metal being worked, flattened and folded. splattering the red furred arms of a fox. The metal's glow diminishing the more it was pounded, swiftly replacing the half-finished work back into the pile of burning coals and once more, the fox walked over to the bellows that were inlayed in the side of his forge, he began the arduous process of supplying a steady supply of air to the fire, to increase the intensity of flame, and bring the metal to a temperature that allowed the steel to be malleable once more.

Nearing his intended target temperature, Nick swiftly grasped his tongs and removed the metal bar from the pit of his forge, onto the anvil, where the bright orange of heated metal contrasted with the dull grey of his anvil. Drawing out the length of the bar, he flattened and started to narrow both edges, his hammer reverberating a dull thwacking sound with each hit upon the stock. Nearing the point of the now rough blank of a two-edged blade, Nick rapidly beat on both sides, narrowing the point with a slight rounded taper, and after flattening the various pits in the metal, Nick held the sword blank at arm's length letting the metal rapidly cool to a diming red, nick placed the half-finished work upon on one of the various tables that lined the outside of his shop. Nick removed his smith's apron and, after placing it on a hook placed in a support near the entrance, walked the short distance to his house to prepare himself for the following day.

Gathering a small breakfast of bread and cheese, he set it aside along with his shield. A standard rectangular shield, with the longer sides perpendicular with the ground. He left some extra wood around the center of each side, so that the shield resembled a rectangle with a diamond-like mid-section all come together with a circular shield boss in the center. Painted a simple dark grey with his tribe's rune scrawled along the upper corner, along with another rune in the opposite corner, displaying his status as the head of his tribe. His shield had saved his hide in many a situation. Nick set it near the door with his leaf bladed spear, and his double-bladed sword near the door, he collapsed onto his straw cot and willed sleep to find him, it was going to be a long day tomorrow.

A sharp jolt ejected Nick from his restless sleep, wildly failing his arms in search for the assailant, his gaze landed on a short brown Fennec Fox.

"Time already"? Nick grumbled.

"we start moving to our position in a few minutes, be ready at the sound of the horn", replied Finnick., his gaze as always in his permanent scowl.

His deep rumble of a voice never ceased to surprise Nick. He glanced down at his small friend's attire, finding a traditional warrior garb of baggy pants, no shirt, and armed with a pair of simple daggers. Many a Zootopian legionnaire had fallen due to underestimating his skill as a warrior. Dragging himself out of his bed, and rubbing is eyes as Finnick left his house, Nick proceeded to scarf down his meager breakfast and put on pants very like Finnick's, donning his sword belt, shield and spear, nick walked out into the still dark early morning air. The wind chilling Nick's shirtless upper body. Silently thanking Woden for fox's superior night vision, Nick slowly meandered his way through the village, greeting those he found along the way. The village hummed with activity, the air was filled with the sound of blades sliding against stones, last horns of mead being downed, and the general hum of a large crowd. Nick made his way through to the assigned meeting place, a stone monument, engraved with runes and pictures displaying his tribe's greatest battles and heroes, surrounded by a circular field that served as a muster point for all warriors in the village and surrounding communities. Already gathered in the field was a warband filled with the familiar faces of his tribe and surrounding farms, he walked through their ranks and made his way to a small wooden scaffold that stood in front of the pillar. Leaving his shield and spear propped against the stone, Nick started climbing up the ladder that lead to the top of the scaffold, Nick was greeted by the pounding of weapons on shields and the mighty howling of warriors upon reaching the top. Raising his gaze upward toward the waiting horde of very enthusiastic warriors the torches scattered around the field giving the warband a demonic appearance.

Nick began to speak, "Today, we do not raid for gold, or slaves, today our prize is far greater. Today we ambush and DESTORY THE LEGIONS OF THE EMPIRE!"

The horde of warriors' roars rattled through the forest as they hyped themselves up for battle Nick was no exception, feeling his blood begin to boil and his breath begin to heat, he raised his voice higher to yell over the clamor of blood thirsty mammals.

"THIS DAY, WE AMBUSH AND CRUSH THE VERY CORE OF THE EMPIRE'S FORCES, CRIPPLEING THEIR WILL TO FIGHT AND OPENING THE EMPIRE'S HEARTLAND TO OUR FURY!"

Nick's vision began to sharpen, colors becoming more pronounced and the familiar tightening of his muscles announced that he was nearing his point of no return.

He continued his rant nearly foaming at the mouth, "NONE WILLL ESCAPE THE UNITED MIGHT OF THE VESANUS TRIBES, AND WITH ODEN'S BLESSING ON OUR SIDE, WE WILL RIDE INTO ZOOTOPIAN LANDS ATOP A WAVE OF DEATH! TO BATTLE!"

Nick was now sure that if he were to look in a pond, his eyes would be the vertical slits of a savage. His body fumed with anger that he violently suppressed as he jumped from the scaffold and retrieved his gear. Letting lose now would not do anyone any good. He jogged to the moving pack of predators as they started off through the forest.

Now moving silently through the forest edge, the immense swarm of predators, lined themselves on both sides of the forest edge, flanking the inlayed road where they were to ambush the Zootopian legions. They hid themselves, and their traps and began the arduous wait. Many tribes had joined them along the way, growing the multitude of tribesman ever larger, and allowed for a longer battle line. They had arrived as the first streaks of the morning and thought about possible cresting the horizon, and set about construction of large wooden spheres to be set of fire and rolled toward the legions, to disrupt the shield walls they so heavily relied on. Nick knew who was coming, where and when, so he planned accordingly.

Only a few hours passed before the word was passed through the lines, Legion standards had been spotted. A shuffle was heard behind Nick, and as he turned around a Zootopian uniform came into view. A brown burly wolf steadied himself as he settled down in the brush a little to the left of Nick. He couldn't help but smile, what a shame for the empire, that their auxiliaries' true allegiance fell with their blood kin. it hadn't taken much convincing from spies for the auxiliaries to swear blood oaths in allegiance to Nick and his tribe and with the confirmed support, the forces of Zootopia were left exposed and unaware. The beat of a drum was heard mere moments after, soft at first, but gaining in volume as the column of legionnaires approached., Nick and the other tribesman fell further into the woods, waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Cohort after cohort went by, as the predator tribesmen began to work themselves up silently into a frenzy. With the authority for the go ahead being directed by chief Fangmeyer, Nick began to whip himself back into the height of a battle frenzy, much like the other mammals that were lying in wait. The gnashing of teeth, and the concentration of hatred directed at mammals that were just ahead, waiting to be ripped to shreds, to be annihilated, to destroy those who would stand in their way.

The legions advance suddenly halted as every so often the heads of each cohort would bark an order in their wretched language, splitting in two each cohort formed a defensive wall facing the two sides of the forest.

"that's it you damn fools" Nick whispered, "be predictable."

Down the line, a horn blew, it had begun.

The oil coated wooden spheres that had been constructed earlier were set ablaze and shoveled down the small embankment into the waiting lines of the legions. And with their impact, the second horn was given. Erupting from the undergrowth, predators of all sizes and types sprinted down the hill battle cries and throaty yells erupted from the mouth of every predator with as much hate as they could muster. A second after they predators began their charge, Nick joined, adding his snarled muzzle and roar into the cacophony of anger as he lost all higher consciousness, and let his fury take over his action. The first sight that belied him upon exiting the brush was that of a small grey bunny, her eyes wide with fear as she pulled another brown bunny out from the path of one of the fireballs. Her head turned and, glancing over her tower shield. she locked eyes with his.

He would slaughter her first.


	3. The Battle of Vesanus Forest

The air vibrated with the sounds of blades meeting shields, armor and flesh as two masses of bodies collided with an almighty clash. The red fox had charged into the rabbit, using his shield as a battering ram, momentum carried him over Judy's head as she knelt and let the top of her shield collapse inward from the fox's weight. Judy silently cursed as she realized her mistake in letting an enemy get into the legions lines when the formations were disrupted. Normally, her fellow legionaries would finish the fox off, and she would turn back toward the outside to deal with the next threat, but the spheres of flame that the tribes had barraged them with, had degraded the legions to the point that the conflict had become a series of single combat duels, with groups here and there sticking together in knots of conflict, Judy turned to face the fox as he dug his clawed feet into the dirt to stop himself from falling over. His almost violently green eyes once again locked with her own, she readied her weapon, partially concealing her blade she shuffled in place, widened her stance and preparing for his next attack. She was astounded as he gazed at her, eyes flickering all around, trying to find the best way to end her life, she saw raw anger reflect in his eyes. Judy may not have been fighting for the empire long, but she doubted she would ever encounter another mammal with as much pent up rage, as much raw passion and spirit as long as she lived. Which she grimly mused, may not be much longer.

The fox began his advance the second his bearings were regained, with his rapid steps covering the short distance in a rapid fashion as Judy prepared to meet the oncoming foe. His spear thrusts, despite his attempts to reach around the top and sides of her tower shield, were thwarted as Judy slowly gave ground to the fox at the sheer power and savagery of his blitz. The vulpine ended her stagnant defense of her person by slamming her shield with his own, throwing her onto her back. Dazed and vision blurred she raised her head and gazed at the canid tribesmammal that would end her life. As the blurred red shape of her opponent stood over her, she barely registered the small brown shape colliding into the fox with a high-pitched yell. The fox snarled in frustration as his kill was denied and turned to rend the new challenger limb from bloody limb. Vision slowly returning, Judy saw her savior was none other than Jessica engaged with her previous opponent, watching them exchange strikes as she struggled to get back on her feet. Regaining full control of her faculties, she moved to help Jessica but was cut off as she found herself almost immediately assaulted by a wolf bearing the armor of a heathen tribe. Raising his sword above his head to deliver a powerful overhead strike, was met with a simultaneous blocking by her shield, and a perfectly aimed stab into his exposed stomach, his whole-body stiffening as he jerked and convulsed for a few moments before he fell to the ground, blood pooling as he fell from her Gladius. Hearing a yell to her left, Judy swiftly rotated on one foot and after a few moments, two other tribesmammals met a similar fate to the wolf. Breath heaving, Judy searched amongst the seemingly endless sets of dueling mammals in search of some form of direction, of how the rest of the legion was performing, and the signs were not promising. The element of surprise, coupled with the Empire fighting out of formation had given the Vesanian Tribes the upper hand, with legionnaires' bodies far outnumbering the fallen heathens. Spying Legate Jumbeaux swinging away with his mace, mowing down enemies as easily as the blade of a scythe harvests wheat. Deciding to rally to the Legate, she began to dash through the fight, trying to concentrate despite her mind was a fractured puzzle of worry, for her life, for the battle, for Jessica. Judy stopped in her tracks at the sight that beheld her as she moved nearer the massive elephant. A moderate clearing had formed around Legate Jumbeaux, seemingly to avoid getting crushed, one lone heathen had dared to enter Jumbeaux's circle of death a fox, whom Judy realized, was the same one from earlier. A knot formed in her stomach as she saw that not only was the fox battling an elephant many times his size, but also dueling Jessica, and holding his own.

Judy joined the fray, seeking to knock him to the ground, very similar to what he had done earlier to her, in order to help Jessica and Legate Jumbeax secure the kill. The fox was too fast however, sidestepping her charge and somehow tripping her with his tail at the same time. Clattering to her knees, she whipped about herself, re-orientating to face her opponent. The Fox rained down a series of blows with the bottom edge of his spear, in conjunction with pokes, trying to work around the brown rabbit's guard. Judy spied Jessica running in from the side, and as the ground shook, she knew Jumbeaux's advance, despite hunkering down behind her shield, must be attempting to squash him from behind. As Judy felt a break in his attacks she attempted to counter with some of her own, seeking to keep him busy to let jumbeaux and Jessica come to her aid, yet once again the fox was ready. A quick, sharp push sent the inbound rabbit several steps back as a quick one eighty turn coupled with a changing of his grip on his spear, set up a throw that landed just short of Jumbeaux,'s eye. Cursing and dropping his mace as he staggered back, and clutched at the offending wound, blood running down his face and the side of his trunk at a rapid rate. The fox, drawing his sword, turned back in time to block a wild arching swing from Jessica, and followed it with a pommel strike to her left knee and with a slight change to his sword's orientation, brought it up through Jessica's chin and up through her head, where it exited through the top of her head. Judy's stomach dropped as she stared in horror at her friend, the fox's sword glistening, bits of brain matter and bone sticking to the edges and in the fuller. With a gory, sloshing sound, the sword was violently withdrawn, body slumping to the side, blood swiftly making a small pond around her. The fox, turned immediately upon the wounded Jumbeaux, dropping his shield and sprinting toward the much larger mammal with long, near skipping, hop-like steps. The vulpine launched himself from the ground, as he neared his target and, with the use of his claws, found purchase on the top of the Legate's trunk. Thrusting his sword into the elephant's cheek, he twisted and turned the blade, trying to cause as much damage as possible. He was rewarded with a crash as the large mammal came crashing down on his back, Judy could only watch as the fox seemed to be consumed by his fury, ignoring all those around him ripping, stabbing, cutting, tearing biting. The legate succumbed to death, the now blood soaked fox let forth snarls and violently howled his bellicose will as he continued to ravage the elephant long after he stopped moving. Losing herself over the macabre sight before her, she let herself be filled with the hopelessness of defeat. The fox, deciding he had abused the Legate's corpse enough, walked down his body, and reaching one of his tusks, with one movement, cleaved off a length about as long as his hand, bits of tusk flying all about. Judy jumped out of her drunk-esque stupor she hadn't realized she was in, and gazed around to find that the fighting had ceased, with legionnaire and tribesmammals alike staring at the savage screaming fox holding his newly acquired prize from the Legate above his ahead, bellowing his victory. Picking herself off the ground, and losing herself to the feeling of hopelessness, as the fox;s head jerked toward her, apparently re discovering her existence. His eyes vertical slits, full of hatred at everything they gazed upon. Despite her fear nearly immobilizing her, Judy managed to look up at her attacker's face, just in time to see the pommel of vulpine's sword come down on her head.

Everything went black.

A pounding ache that encompassed her whole body was among the first sensations to greet the tired rabbit's mind. A gust of wind, a small exhale of the earth, slowly pushed its way over Judy's body, rending her with a bone chilling blast. Grimacing, Judy running on empty, somehow found the energy to turn her head to the side, trying desperately to at least get her face out of the line of fire from Jupiter's annoyance. Opening her eyes, much to their displeasure, she gazed upon the scene before her.

She saw that she lay atop a blanket, or at least some sort of heavy cloth, and still resided among the battlefield, although the injured tribesmammals had been cleared, and, presumably, the injured legionaries had been dealt with. What soon encompassed her rapidly fading consciousness was the interaction between legate Moosebridge, and the fox that had so soundly defeated her and her fellow soldiers just a ways away. Moosebridge got to his knees, drew his gladius and, all the while giving eye contact to the vulpine, presented it to him, the blade resting on his hoofs, themselves being upturned. Only when the tod held up his hands, accepting the blade, did moose bridge bow his head, staring intently at the ground. She closed her eyes once more as she was embraced by the darkness.

The next thing she remembered was the crunching of paws, and the whistle and sway of trees and other flora. Chancing a small slit in her vision, she was greeted by the moving sight of the canopy of the forest. The same massive trees, monarchs of the forest and silent sentinels, witnesses to the brutal display of death that had occurred some time past. She resigned herself once more to the infinite black, losing herself oncemore, in the vastness of a dreamless slumber.

The sound of rustling rock and a sudden shift had her jostled from rest once more, her already aching body crying out its displeasure as the multiple, pains, cuts and bruises that riddled her body, one by one, made themselves known. Opening her eyes, Judy found that she could once more see the world around her with only slight blurriness, as if gazing through a morning fog. Though, even her short time in the waking world was already trying to end, sleep trying to reassert its control over her tried to will herself to stay awake. Finding she was still being carried on what she could only assume was a cloth stretcher of some sort and had been set down on a grassy knoll for some reason or another. Head rolling languidly to her right, she gazed trough a sparse layer of trees into a small clearing beyond. She found a small number of tribesmammals, twenty or so from what her limited mental faculties could distinguish, sitting on their knees in a rough crescent with weapons in their hands and shields resting against them, around what looked to be the red vulpine that had so soundly defeated one of the greatest warriors her legion had to offer. His fur swaying in the steady breeze, standing opposite a few steps from who she realized was Moosebridge sitting much like the warriors around him, though he was garbed in what appeared to be a simple red tunic, and roughly sewn pants.

"They must have changed him out of his armor when he was taken prisoner," she noted.

She saw that he also wore the necklace that she had seen around his neck since he gazed upon him at the start of the campaign into the forest, and though she never saw the necklace itself, she had often seen it in his fist, whenever he was put into a tight position, and she had several times seen him bring his fist to his lips before a battle, his whispers known only to him and whatever symbol he held clenched in his hand. She was surprised to once again see it around his neck, thinking on why the heathens had not taken it from him. The vulpine carried two swords in his hands, one she recognized as the same blade he used in the battle, and another, while similar in shape, was much larger, resting on his shoulder and stood about as high as the fox himself. Stabbing his own sword into the ground, he crossed the distance between the kneeling Moosebridge, and heaving with both hands, he thrust the larger blade in the ground in front of Moosebridge, who gazed at it in fierce and absolute concentration. The fox stepped toward his own blade, and after retrieving it from the earth, turned to face moosebridge who had risen and taken the larger blade from the ground. The fox and moose both stood, each adopting a battle-ready stance, the wind tossing and turning clothes and fur. The surrounding tribesmammals began humming, a deep steady tone, and even from her position a stone's throw away, her chest reverberated at its presence.

THUMP!

The congregation clapped their weapons against their shields. Their eyes gazing intently at the duo who no longer moved, no longer twitched or seemingly breathed

THUMP!

It was if they had become living stone, encompassed by some cruel fate of the gods, destined to gaze at each other for all eternity.

THUMP!

The tempo of the pounding shields began to increase, the pair's grip on their weapons tightening and their stances tensing. Judy's eyes widened at the scene, as the pseudo-drums still increasing evermore to a wild beat of fervor, and a thundering sound. The warriors gave one last resounding THWAK and were silent. The ever-present rumbling of beating shields having been ceased from their minute-long tirade, plunged the area in a silence that Judy doubted she would ever bear witness to again. A couple still moments passed before Moosebriedge gave a yell, charging headlong at the fox, with the tod doing the same, meeting battle cry with savage battle cry. As the pair neared each other Moosebridge swung his blade in a long arc and brought an overhead slash down upon the fox's head. The vulpine brought his blade up, his blade parallel with the ground and the tip facing where she was laying, the second Moosebridge's blade touched the fox's he stepped to his right, allowing the much heavier blade of the moose to slide off the end and implant in the ground. A fraction of a second later, the fox tilted the point of his blade toward his adversary and drove it through the moose's lower torso with a wet Schunk! It made her wish she didn't have good hearing. Moosebridge's body jerked, as if he had just been the recipient of a surprise celebration, before falling to his knees, blade dragging the ground. With a small grunt, the fox dislodged his weapon from his opponents torso, and with a swift, powerful movement, swung his sword in an arc that began with his blade, freshly ejected from Moosebridge, and ended with above the fox's own head. A pause, in which the vulpine gazed at his mortally wounded enemy. Moosebridge's lips barely moved, and even with her superior hearing, it came out in a whisper.

"Va-"

That was all she could hear before his voice was replaced by a gurgle that had blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, A savage scream filled the clearing as the fox brought his entire weight down with his blade, as it connected with his opponent's exposed neck.

SCHING!

Moosbridge's head toppled to the ground, where it lay motionless, his antlers not allowing the head to roll, while his body jerked once, blade finally clattering to the ground in defeat, and fell to the grass with a soft thump, and once again, Judy felt her eyes grow heavy, as her injuries once again took their toll.


	4. The Basics

Opening her eyes, gasping all the while, Judy started blankly at the ceiling above her. Her mind slow on the uptake, and her body sore and stiff. She remembered the start of battle, and not much else, blurred snippets of memory, little pieces of thought floating amidst a sea of groggy fog. Siting up, she realized she found herself on a bed, soft blankets, belied their rough appearance, and the bed itself was plush. Gazing around the darkened room, past a door on the far side, her eyes fell upon shelves of jars and pieces and bobs of arrows, strings, and assorted bits and bobs. Head turning left, her breath hitched, across the rectangular room widthwise sat a fox. Her eyes widened, and breath was held as a great wind blew away the fog of her mind, memories of the battle, and the events afterword came rushing through the forefront of her mind as a torrent of sensation. Judy simply sat, unable to bring herself to move, and found herself watching the fox, as if that would make him vanish into thin air. He sat at a rough bench, fiddling with something she couldn't quite see, hands moving lazily over the object, as his head rotated this way and that as he worked with a chisel, at least that's what she could only assume the soft tapping sound was, as it made its muffled repetitive sound.

A few minutes passed this way, until with a small thump, the fox left the object on the table, and made to rise from the chair, getting about half way before turning his head, and freezing in place, as he looked at her staring. To his credit, he was only startled for a moment, before he took on a smirk, with his eyes half lidded.

"Wait here, don't move" he commanded.

"Ok" Judy squeaked, her voice much smaller than she intended. Staring after him as he disappeared through the door. Wondering how the hell he had spoken in near flawless rabbit tongue. Returning a few moments later with a plate with some bread and cheese, he handed her the plate before turning the chair around and sitting himself down, arms across the back, and head on his arms. Judy didn't bother to speak, focusing on the food, devouring it ravenously, tearing into the meager meal with fervor. She didn't slow down, though she could feel his smirk growing on his muzzle, finishing off the plate before she even knew she was that hungry.

With the food gone, the fox silently opened his hand beckoning for the plate, Judy handed it to him, only for the fox to turn around and set it on the table he was working at earlier and returned to his position on his backward chair, and simply continued to stare at her, his eyes squinted as he was lost in seeming concentration. Judy tried her best to meet his gaze with as much intensity, but found herself lost in the pools of flaming emerald that were his eyes, awed at the depth that they displayed.

"what are you going to do to me?" Judy asked, trying to pour as much sternness into her words as she could muster.

When the vulpine remained silent, Judy raised her voice a bit,

"Well? Say something?"

"I haven't decided yet." He responded in a matter of fact tone.

A brief moment of silence followed, "what do you mean you haven't decided"

"Exactly what I said" eyebrows raising as he gazed at her from his chair. "the way I see it, I have several options. The first option is to present you as a sacrifice to the gods." This had Judy's eyes grow wide. "Option two has me selling you into slavery, and make a sizable chunk of money for myself. After all, many mammals would pay to have a former legionnaire as a slave, and many would take you as slave slave." One eyebrow raising to indicate his point at the last comment. Option three is to present you to the council of my tribe, though they would likely pick one of the first two options, so it really isn't much of an alternative. "I would like your opinion in the matter before I decide however."

"you want me opinion?" Judy exclaimed. "I don't suppose there was any you could let me go?

The fox smirked and let out a snort, "sorry rabbit, no can do"

"Well both of those sounds pretty miserable. Whichever choice I pick, my life will for be for the most part forfeit."

"I will present you with a true third option then" The fox leaned back into his chair, and grabbed an object from his table and presented it to her. It was a small metal torc, a mottled blend of greys, with several symbols inscribed into its surface with a large level of detail.

"This must be what he was working on earlier" Judy thought.

"I could take you in, you would be fed and housed, and in return, you would work and aid me in whatever needs doing around my house, and around the village." Nick tossed the torc this way and that, staring at it for a moment, before handing it to her.

Judy held the small metal object in her hands, turning it over and over in her lap, ears drooping behind her, as the realization of her situation stuck her. Here she was, thinking about If she wanted to die, be sold into brutal slavery, or serve a fox. "I could always serve the fox just long enough to snoop about, gather my bearings, and then sneak out" she mused. "They must have maps somewhere after all."

Mind decided, Judy gave a large sigh, before handing the fox back the torc, standing up and presenting her right arm. "The third option then."

The fox simply stood, pushed his chair to one side, and slid the torc onto her, letting it rest on her upper arm. "Is that restricting? It shouldn't be able to turn and bounce, nor slide off, but it shouldn't be so tight as to be uncomfortable."

"Why does he care if this damn thing is restricting?" she fumed, regardless She shook her head no as to mean it fit fine.

He grunted, "that's good, I really didn't want to have to resize it." Awkward silence fell over them both as they stood just stood there looking at each other.

"Well, let me take you down to the village."

Judy sat there, wondering what to do with herself, "so what do I call you?" a small pause, "Master?"

An audible huff and a smirk later, nick turned and started walking toward the door, gesturing for her to follow. "There will be no need for that, my name is Nick Wilde, just call me Nick. "what shall I call you?"

"Judy Hopps."

Nick looked a little surprised at that, "Hopps? The large Bunnyburrow family?"

"yeah, how did you know"

"Your family's supplies are found in the empire's foodstuffs here and there."

He swept aside on of two large lengths of rough looking cloth that served as a door, gesturing for her to exit. Stepping out of the room, she found herself in a small room, boots and shoes along the far side of the room, and two cloaks hanging from the walls. Soft morning light poured into the open doorway, and a morning mist hung in the air.

"Must be fairly early for the mist to not have burned off." Judy thought

Stepping from the house, Judy looked around, squinting her eyes to see through the mist that clung around the area, making out a tree line a short distance away, turning to her right, she gazed at the wall less area attached to the side of Ni…. the Fox's house,

"I refuse to treat my enemy with such familiarity" Judy sternly told herself "What is this, a forge?" to this question he simply stepped outside and walked past her, giving a nod. "So, you make weapons?"

"I make lots of things, weapons, tools, hooks, and harnesses, repairs, anything really. Now come on, we need to get going, "

Judy fell in beside Nick, as he made is way down from a tall hill, and even with the mist, just could make out the village spread out on the hills below. She saw that it was a hodgepodge of differing buildings, and could make out a wooden wall that enclosed at least what she could see of the village. Standing sentinel at the entrance were two wolves, armed with spears, they nodded toward Nick as they entered the village. The village itself wasn't as she had expected either, expecting a dilapidated collection of housings, where bloodshed and savagery reared their heads on a daily basis, instead she gazed upon sturdy buildings of varying size and construction. Predators of all kinds going about their business would give her looks comprised of furrowed brows, and concerned looks, all would look beside her where Nick was still strolling down the road as if nothing was amiss, and would turn back to their own business.

After a short while, Judy would be lead into a Building, which upon entering, would realize to be a tavern, the smell of alcohol and smoke from a large fire, obliterating the chill from outside, and all together created a not unpleasant atmosphere.

Strolling up to the bar, Nick asked the barkeep, "Hey Balorix, do you know if Coro is here yet?"

Balorix simply jerked his head in the direction of a table in the corner of the room, where a large ox was seated, nursing a large mug. Judy followed Nick as they approached the table, the ox turning around in his chair to stare at Nick.

"Nick, way to keep me waiting, I do have a harvest to bring in you know."

"Yes yes, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, I know you are so busy bossing your family and workers yelling at them to tend to the fields harder."

Judy could see the smirk make its way across Nicks face, as he took a seat across from the muscular ox, who she assumed was Coro, gesturing for her to occupy the one next to him. She was terrified to see the small fox poking at the much larger mammal, who probably could stomp them both into the ground with one foot, and she was relieved when Coro simply guffawed, and took a large draught from his mug.

"Sharp as ever Nick, So what can I do for you?"

"Well, as you can probably tell, I have a companion this morning", giving Judy a nod with his head.

Judy gave a little wave, trying not to scrunch up in her seat, "Hi, I'm Judy." Coro returned her wave with a small smile.

"I need to be able to get reliable food for her, so I need to know what It would cost me for you to supply that?"

Coro leaned back in his chair, scratching his chin and neck, "Well, normally id put a year's food at ten chickens or other producing bird and some spare coin, but if you would consider repairing any tools we have for the year, I would probably feel comfortable dropping the birds, and just taking the coin. I don't have that much room to house many more birds anyway."

Nick's eyebrows raised a fraction, not expecting the deal to go by so quickly and so smoothly, "That sounds fantastic actually, I thought you would drive a much harder deal."

"I remember all those times you came in to help give me replacement plows and the like these past years, consider it a debt partly repaid. We will figure out the exact amount when I deliver the first shipment so to speak, but just pay bit by bit, as I deliver."

"Sounds fine, glad to get it out of the way with so little fuss. "Nick rose from his seat, and moved toward the door, as Judy moved to follow. Passing by the bar again, Nick glanced at the barkeep Balorix once again, he placed two silver coins on the bar top, "Thanks Bal, let me get another mug of ale for Coro over there, his favorite." Judy noticed that the coins were emblazoned with the emblem of Zooptia as Balorix grinned before turning around to make the ox his drink.

Following Nick, Judy almost brought up the issue of the coins, before her body found the outside air, as it nipped at her and she found herself missing the fire in the tavern as the breeze blew the crisp air across her fur. Rubbing her arms to try to warm herself, Nick lead her back the way they came, out of the village, hiking up the hill where his house lay, but rather than enter, he stepped into the forge beside it. He beckoned her to enter, and she dutifully obeyed.

The forge was an interesting place indeed, a large square rock housing was constructed in the center of the space, with slits on either side of the structure about half way up for what Judy assumed, to be where metal could be inserted from all directions. The forge itself towered up into the center of the roof, where it would serve as its own chimney. there were no full walls, but rather half walls, that came to just at Nicks waist, with counters attached to provide a working area. The Space was an example of chaotic neatness in an of itself. Every tool had its place, hammers, tongs, and other bizarre looking lumps of metal hung from hooks, in the poles that supported the roof, sat at the back of the counters of rock that went around the three sides of the square, the forth side of course, being Nick's house.

"You shall serve me first and foremost in helping me work here." Nick said, putting on an apron, and helping fit Judy with one. "Today I'm just going to show you the layout, and the very basic tasks that you will perform the most often."

Guiding her toward a set of leather bag looking things, Judy felt slightly apprehensive about all the weird contraptions ad things set around her.

"These are called bellows," Nick explained. "They help force more air into the fire, and allow it to get to a higher temperature. They are about as easy to operate as something can get, you pull up on the handle and push down on the handle, simple as that, Understand?"

"Yes, and this is what I'm going to be doing?"

"One of the things, yes. It is somewhat difficult to master the timing and patterns, depending on what type of item I am making. As you will find out, these skills, even though the skills themselves are basic, they are harder to learn than it might seem."

Over the course of the afternoon, Nick taught her many things. Judy learned how to work the bellows, though after a while her arms ached from the task. She learned how to work a small sledgehammer on the anvil, hitting the same place so that nick simply had to move the metal on the anvil head. She still struggled to learn how to maintain the temperature of the flame

Judy stared at nick out of the corner of her eye, whenever he was working, she marveled at how relaxed and alive it made the fox. She noticed how his eyes seem to sparkle, as he started working the fire, tending it as a father would tend to his son, nurturing it to grow big and strong, working metal as an artist works paint, as a warrior works a blade, and as a poet works the written word. All sense of nervousness, apprehension, anything at all that she sensed in the fox previously was gone, replaced by the intense concentration of what he had currently in front of him.

The sun hung low in the sky when Nick finally extinguished the fire. The shadows of the trees now casting themselves over the house as a fishing line was cast out to sea.

"That will be enough for today," Nick said. "We will continue tomorrow, but for now let's head on inside for the night,"

Judy obeyed and the two found themselves in Nick's bedroom, where Judy had woken up earlier, eating a small meal of bread, cheese and assorted fruits. Judy found herself a little apprehensive about seeing Nick eat, though she grew used to it, after all she was devouring the food with as much gusto as Nick, if not more so. Once dinner was finished, nick guided her into a small room just north, of his bedroom, where a cot, a nightstand and a few hooks on the walls were all that furnished the area.

"This is where you will sleep," Nick said.

Judy looked around, optimistically thinking that she could be sleeping in far worse places than this, although if she wanted to escape back to the Legions, she would have to go through Nick's room first. She turned around to find Nick out through the door in his own bedroom. Closing the door, Nick spoke "Oh, and I wouldn't recommend sneaking out and trying to leave as I know that's what you must be scheming right about now, however that isn't the smartest thing right now. The fall season is nearly at its end, meaning that all the supplies and food and anything that you would need to survive is long tucked away. You wouldn't survive Vesanus in winter." And with that, he closed the door, leaving her in blackness


	5. Preparations

Chapter 6 Preparations

Swinton was glad her journey was nearing its end, endless march back to the center of the empire. Having left the tattered remnants of her legions that had somehow survived the slaughter at the nearest frontier outpost, she traveled with Legate Doug, and six of his elite sheep guards. Many days of travelling had seen them to the top of a small knoll overlooking the surrounding area. To the west, the sea dominated the landscape, fishing vessels coming and going into the harbors that dotted the shore, and directly ahead, arose the stone walls of Zootopia. As they entered the city, A deer stepped forward

"General, Magistrate Bellwether requests your presence in the senate commons, immediately."

Swinton merely nodded in his direction, before bidding goodbye to Doug and his entourage, and heading off to the senate building, the Curia. Passing though the large streets, marbled buildings next to wooden shops and housings, casting shade over the streets below as millions shopped and went about their business. As she approached the Curia, she found Bellwether already waiting for her, appearing even shorter than normally did, being flanked by the hulking senate guards. Swinton's grimace grew as she neared, knowing what she had to inform the ewe of.

"Swinton my dear, come, walk with me." The high-pitched tone cut through the air, as Swinton bowed her head in respect to the magistrate. They set off through the city, taking backroads, and side streets, to avoid eavesdroppers as they conversed.

"How goes the campaign in Vesanus, general?" Bellwether's gaze, which had been sweeping the streets, focusing on no one in particular, turned to rest on Swinton.

Swinton swallowed before answering, "We lost all three legions, Legate Jumbeaux was killed, and I haven't seen hide nor hair of Moosebridge, I would assume he met a similar fate."

It seemed that Bellwether was frozen, eyes glaring, and lips pursed, and face slowly turning white, after several moments of silence, tension so palpable that it was a miracle Swinton could breathe, bellwether spoke in a even toned, draugh, "We lost three legions. Fifteen thousand mammals, to those filthy heathen pelts? Is that what you are telling me Swinton?" Swinton's gaze fell to the ground, feeling it was best not to answer. A tired sigh escaped bellwether, before she added "Well, the Empire Hasn't the time, nor the resources for another invasion before spring, I fear we must forward our plans for the Empire domestically without the holdings in the north. I will require you in the upcoming senate meetings, we will present these troubling events, and let us see if we cannot ." Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a fox stumbling down a nearby set of stairs right in front of bellwether. Squeaking, bellwether took a surprised hop back, gazing at the fox for a moment. The palpably thin fox reached around and grabbed bellwethers shoulder and attempted to use it to help himself up, but bellwether shook him off, disgusted. "DON'T touch me you filthy pred!" She exclaimed, her sheep bodyguards picked the fox off the ground where he layby the scruff of his neck, face turned away from the groups back, as if he didn't deserve to behold the sheep's greatness.

Hearing the voice, the fox starting to quake, "Please magistrate, I didn't mean anything by it, an accident was all it was, I swear!" Swinton watched as the guard proceeded to hurl his small body into the wall, as an athlete might throw a javelin. A sickening crunch was heard as the fox fell to the ground screaming. Bellwether said something to one of the guards, something Swinton couldn't decipher over the cries of the anguished beggar. Bellwether motioned for her to follow, Swinton did as she was told, but not before she kick at the fox. Moving away, she looked back at the fox hoping to let him know just how worthless he truly was, and she noticed something strange, the cloth that rested over his eyes.

On the other side of the city, rose the colosseum, a mighty stadium of carnage and battle for the masses. The crowd roared and jeered as two fighters approached each other once more. Aa a wolf and panther both in full armor traded blows, trying to keep their footing in the sand of the arena, A lion clad in purple and gold, sat in a shaded box, as did a small shrew from above the fighter's entrance to the arena. A roar went up from the crowd, as the panther ducked a blow form his opponent and responded with a swift jab into the wolf's gut. Wrenching the blade from his opponent's flesh, a mighty roar signifying his triumph. The panther placed his foot upon the fallen wolf's chest and looked up at the lion. The lion's hand rose and gave a Pollice Verso, a thumbs up. The panther brought his blade down quickly on the wolf's head, ending the battle. As the panther paraded around the arena, garnering the mammals love and cheers, the shrew sighed, turned, and returned into the black of the colosseum's underbelly.

Late was the hour, when the city's cacophony of activity and chatter finally gave way to a low buzz of content citizens meandering through the city streets. Bellwether stood looking over the city in her quarters, which was situated at the top of a tower, in the richer area of town where the patricians dominated. "Defeat after defeat after defeat, our forces were routed from the great isles, and the Empire's frontier once again stands at Hardrian's wall, three legions crushed in the Vesanus forest, to those heathens! Something must be done about the state of the empire's borders if my plan is to succeed." Bellwether turned toward a darkened corner of the room where two ears stood tall, lurking from the shadows as a shark's fins rise from the sea. "Go see to it that the Vesanus tribes are not a cohesive whole upon the spring." She turned back to the city, as the figure rose and left the tower.

The barracks and training grounds also were barren, the legions having retired for the night. No one could hear the rumbling yells coming from the end of the training compound, as a hulking cape buffalo roamed his home, fists clenched around a scroll of papers, detailing the loss of over 15,000 mammals to the forest, and its inhabitants.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the buffalo punctuated this yell by throwing aside the papers, and slamming his horned head against the nearest wall with each word. "BELLWEATHER, GIVE ME BACK MY LEGIONS!"


	6. A Mammal's Secret

Judy awoke to the sound of footsteps outside the door. As she heard the door opening, she tried to be as still as possible. Opening her eyes just a crack, she made out a blurry image of Nick laying something just inside the door before gazing up at her lying in bed. A moment passed before slowly, the light from the door faded as Nick disappeared back through the doorway, the room once more cast in near darkness. His footsteps growing ever fainter had Judy wondering if Nick had left the house. Ears perking up as she rose from bed, her hearing nothing from the fox. Dressing quickly, Judy wandered to the door to discover a small note.

I have an important gathering to attend. I trust you won’t get into any mischief while I’m gone.  
-Nick

Judy wondered what it was that he could possibly have to go to that would warrant not even an explanation of where he was going. Her curiosity had her stepping outside and looking around frantically. She was rewarded with a small smudge of red disappearing down a trail that led off around the village and into the forest. Without much thought, Judy started to jog down the path, keeping into the forest to one edge, as to not be as readily seen. As Judy found the trail heading deeper into the woods, the trees becoming larger, the canopy denser, a strange feeling rose up in Judy’s chest. Not quite fear, not quite awe. This part of the forest, Judy didn’t think so much as feel that this place was old, immeasurably old. The knowledge that these woods and these trees were here long before the birth of her father’s fathers, and they would be here long after they were all gone had a sense of triviality accompanying her as she continued on. She lost sight of Nick several times over the trek, disappearing behind a bend, or a thicket of trees, always to reappear when Judy did the same. 

At last she arrived upon a foreboding wooden building nestled atop a rocky knoll amidst the massive trees. In front of the large structure, at the base of a stone path that led to it. Was a large clearing, moss covered rocks bordering the edge, and in the center, surrounded by multitudes of mammals. She spied Nick finding its place among them. Judy as quietly as she could, dipped to the side, finding a place on a small hill a few feet from the edge of the clearing, where she could hide amidst the foliage. Judy watched intently as the small gathering worked its way around a large buildup of wood. Her eyes widened as she realized that, what lay atop it, was Moosebridge.

Somehow, his head at least appeared as if it was attached, despite Judy vividly remembering Nick himself removing it from the rest of him. His antlers shown brilliantly in the morning light that trickled through the incredibly dense canopy above. She couldn’t see exactly, however it seemed he was wearing some manner of loose fitting clothing, with his weapon clasped in his hooves.  
Time slowly slipped by, the throng of attendees patiently waiting for something, or someone. Judy received her answer when several figures garnered in flowing cloaks emerged from the building atop the rocky hill, and made their way to the gathering where Nick and the others organized themselves around Moosebridge’s body. She imagined the mammals were speaking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.  
Several minutes passed before one of the cloaked mammals beckoned with their hand, and Nick stood and approached. He received a torch born aloft by one of the other mammals, and he placed it at the base of what Judy realized was Moosebridge’s funeral pyre, but not before taking something from atop Moosebridge. Judy’s eyes began to water as she realized that this was what was to become of one of the legion’s greatest warriors. Burned in the middle of a forest, by heathen tribesmammals far from the Empire’s borders, without their burial customs and without his legionaries around him.

She brooded over these facts as the pyre was reduced to a pile of ashes. Movement startled her from her angst. He group had gathered the ashes in some sort of container, and was now walking up to the wooden building. She watched them all go disappear inside, before wondering what to do with herself. She was tempted to try and get closer, however every time she was about to chance moving, a mammal would return from the structure, and leave about the path she used to get here. They continued to trickle out at a relatively steady pace as she remained where she was. About a half hour passed before she witnessed the hooded figures emerge once more, however, they walked deeper into the woods disappearing among the massive trees and rocks.

A flash of red in her peripheral vison had her glancing at the door once again, to find Nick working his way down the path. He trotted to the center of the clearing before staring in her direction, smirking and giving a come-hither gesture.

“Come on out Judy, I know you’re there.”

Her eyes grew “bu, wha-“

The smirk was reaching unnerving levels.

“come little bunny”

Defeated she did as he asked, horrified as what was to happen to her.

“Please, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to follow you, it’s just you didn’t say where you were going and I…” Nick’s raised hand caused her to flinch. A patting of her head had her opening her eyes to see a chuckling Nick messing up her fur.

“I knew you were following me for pretty much the whole time.”

At this judy got indignant.

“WHAT!! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it was funny.”

Fuming, Judy decided to ignore it and instead ask “what did you do to Moosebridge?”

Nick’s smile slowly grew almost somber, but in a relaxed, understanding way. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

He gestured for her to follow as they started towards the building. The closer they got, via the rocky path, the more intricate the building became. Vine carvings ran up and down the surfaces. Strange symbols that Judy had seen carved in shields or painted on bodies of the tribesmammal’s warriors. 

The building was rectangular in layout with a semicircle on the far end. Judy thought it was surprisingly well lit, with wall mounted torches being fixed upon pillars that ran the perimeter of the walls. Between the pillars were large statues, each taller than some bears. Some were constructed from wood, some from stone. The semi circle’s center had upon it a stone pyre, with the same container she had seen the mammals put Moosebridge’s ashes into sat upon it.

She zoned out as she approached the table, staring at the jar that she knew contained one of the greatest warriors the legion had ever known. The words came out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying

“Why did you kill him?”

She heard a contented huff from Nick, as if he was expecting the question.

“Because he asked me to.”

Several strange sounds escaped Judy as she whipped around, fumbling for the words to exemplify the torrent of feelings that rushed through her, anger the most prevalent. 

“Calm yourself”, he gestured toward one of the wooden statues that lined the walls.

Judy’s tone was tense and aggressive, still she approached the carving. It depicted a wolf deep red in color, a hammer in his hand at the bottom of the carving, two goats flanking either side of his immense figure. Pillars flanking the carving carried the outline of what Judy assumed to be his hammer burned into the logs.

“What about it?” she asked as she glanced back at Nick, as if this had anything to do with why he killed the mammal she looked up to. Nick procured a small box from somewhere on his person before dangling its contents for Judy to see. It was a leather necklace upon which was a flat silver hammer, the same one that was emblazoned on the pillars behind her.

“I took this from Moosebridge upon his request.”

Judy simply stared. “He couldn’t have owned this, and if he did it was only as a spoil of war. He didn’t follow your heathen gods.”

Nick walked past her to stand at the base of Thor’s statue. “He was a devout follower of our faith, and one of my closest friends.”

“You knew him? How?”

“He was born of these lands, but in the frontier settlements of the Empire when they first started to expand here, he enlisted into the legion and led the many campaigns that he has become known for, during which time, he came into correspondence with me. From me he learned of our faith and customs, or way of life. He grew to love us and the land in which he was born. So, when the empire sent him and his legions to aid in the conquest of the forest, his home, he sent ahead to warn us about the incoming force, and the route they planned to take.”

“HE WHAT?! That would mean thousands of lives are all because he was a traitor!”

Nick’s eyes grew soft and sympathetic. “He warned us of the threat to our shared homeland, but he refused to leave the legion which had been his life’s purpose. He made it quite clear that he would fight and die with his men. He made the plans for the auxiliaries of your legions that day, to be able to get into contact with several of my mammals, as for the legion to not be able to connect his name directly with persuading them to join us in the ambush. This necklace I made for him many years ago during one of our few personal meetings, as a symbol of his home, that he may never forget it. To find out that he wore it always, was an honor.”

Judy’s ears flopped behind her back as she realized one of the empire’s greatest assets caused the death of so many, all for a land he barely knew. That the necklace he wore throughout his great conquests was one of a heathen religion, made by the heathen fox that stood before her.

“Why was he so enamored by your gods?” Judy more mumbled than asked. “why would he kill thousands for the sake of a land he barely saw?”

Nick gestured to the surrounding figures. “For them."  
Your legion may have one god. Your creator, which you force down your subjects throats, but we have many gods. You already know Thor, he is the god of thunder, and an honorable and loyal warrior. He is the model for which the tribe’s warriors all aspire to reach. He is among the most popular gods, for he is also not invincible, he can, and has been tricked and misfortune has fallen upon him, making him the most approachable of the gods. His goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngjostr are his ever-loyal warriors.  
He walked to the next statue, that stood at the head of the back of the building, where another wolf stood, eye missing and the area scared. Upon his shoulder sat two birds of some sort, and by his side stood two smaller wolves. The head of our pantheon, he is called many things. He Is one eye, he is Grimnir and the Hooded One, he is All-Father, Wand bearer. His is Odin. His wolf warriors are Freki and Geri, his ravens are huginn and munnin, ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’. He hung from the word tree Yggdrasil for nine days and gave up his eye to drink from Mimir’s Well of Urd in order to gain the knowledge of the runes. He is the father of Thor, and to him we owe everything. He approached yet another statue of a Fox, clad in robes, with daggers upon his belt.  
“Loki, the trickster god. He is the mischief maker and god of traveling, he is the god that will ultimately help bring about Ragnarok, the end times.

These among many others, he brought her attention to various other statues. “ the bear Tyr, Freyja, Balder, Frigg, Frjord, Freyr. Moosebridge sought to understand and worship the land and the gods as I do, as my people do. “

“Then why did you kill him?” Judy cried.

“The ultimate place in our faith for warriors, is to reach the Halls of Valhalla, where the walls are made of spears, the ceiling of shields, and the mead flows forever. In order to join the ranks of the Einherjar, one must die in battle. Moosebridge Surrendered his sword to me as a sign of the seriousness of his intentions, and to beg forgiveness for fighting his people in the past. In return, I accepted his challenge for a Holmgang, a ritual duel. He asked me to fight him, and so I sent him to Valhalla.” Nick rested his hand upon her shoulder. “I don’t expect you to understand now, but I do hope you will think on it.”

He guided her from the temple, Judy silent, moving reluctantly with the fox’s guidance.

 

Evening’s slow release into the night brought with it the cover of darkness. A cover that the rabbit was glad for as the group marched out from the outpost. The closest trail that led into the forest was not so small that it concealed those that tread it, after all the empire had been using it for incursions into the forest. The rabbit followed the path deeper into the trees, followed behind by a war party.


End file.
